Scorching second on the grid for Marquez at Valencia finale 05.11.2022: Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana MotoGP 2022 Round 20 The eight-time World Champion will launch his Repsol Honda Team RC213V from the front row for the last race of 2022, eager to deliver a memorable final result.

Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana
MotoGP 2022   Round 20




The eight-time World Champion will launch his Repsol Honda Team RC213V from the front row for the last race of 2022, eager to deliver a memorable final result.


Battling a heavy cold, Marc Marquez was able to surprise even himself with the speed he showed on Saturday in Valencia. Again splitting his weekend between the present and future, the #93 and his crew worked meticulously on Saturday to find constant improvements to the setup of the Honda RC213V for the task ahead.



 Ending Free Practice 3 in fifth and already in the low 1’30s, Marquez felt he was near his limit but when the time came he and the Honda made another step forward.


A best time of 1’29.826 earned Marquez second on the grid for Sunday’s race, 0.205s shy of pole. The time was also two tenths faster than Marquez’s 2019 Q2 time at Valencia – where he also took second on the grid.


This is Marquez’s third consecutive front row and the fourth since his return in Aragon. The upward trend continues as he sets off on Sunday afternoon with the podium as his aim. Times, especially in regard to race pace, are incredibly close and with the MotoGP World Championship still up for grabs Sunday’s race looks set to be a fierce battle throughout the field.

Pol Espargaro has a monumental task ahead of him as he starts his final race with the Repsol Honda Team down in 22nd after a crash in Q1. A promising Free Practice 4 session, where he ended in fourth and showed consistent pace throughout, shows the potential is there should everything come together at the start. More than anything, Espargaro is aiming to put on a strong race for the home fans and to say thank you to the Repsol Honda Team after two years together.


With the Circuit Ricardo Tormo measuring in at just four kilometres long, the Valencia GP will run across 27 laps. The final set of lights for 2022 will go out at 14:00 Local Time.   
    
       


    
Marc Marquez  93
SECOND  1'29.826


“The target was to try and be on the second or third row because being honest, I didn’t think a 29 was possible with the pace we have now. The team has done a great job this weekend and we worked a lot today for the race. I’d like to be on the podium tomorrow, I have some possibilities, but I am not the fastest guy at the moment.

It’s going to be a big fight tomorrow. A front row and fighting for the podium are very good preparations for 2023, which we are also thinking about. I’m still quite sick, a little better than yesterday but a front row start is probably the best medicine I can get!”         

    
       
    
Pol Espargaro  44
22ND  1'30.936


“Of course today did not go to plan. I mean, in Free Practice 4 I was fourth, the pace was good and I was riding well. But in FP3 and Q1 I couldn’t get the lap, the crash in Q1 really ended our hopes. It’s going to be a long and tough race and it will be really difficult to do anything from that far back on the grid.


Valencia is a circuit I like a lot and it’s the last one of the year, so why not go for it? I want to do a good result for me and for the guys here who have kept working all year long for me – no matter what.”         

    
       
    
Valencia Grand Prix - Qualifying Results



1    MARTIN Jorge     89    SPA    Pramac Racing    Ducati    1'29.621
2    MARQUEZ Marc     93    SPA    Repsol Honda Team    Honda    0.205
3    MILLER Jack     43    AUS    Ducati Lenovo Team    Ducati    0.213
4    QUARTARARO Fabio     20    FRA    Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP    Yamaha    0.279
5    RINS Alex     42    SPA    Team Suzuki Ecstar    Suzuki    0.319
6    VINALES Maverick     12    SPA    Aprilia Racing    Aprilia    0.334
7    BINDER Brad     33    RSA    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM    0.418
8    BAGNAIA Francesco     62    ITA    Ducati Lenovo Team    Ducati    0.428
9    ZARCO Johann     5    FRA    Pramac Racing    Ducati    0.481
10    ESPARGARO Aleix     41    SPA    Aprilia Racing    Aprilia    0.503
11    MARINI Luca     10    ITA    Mooney VR46 Racing Team    Ducati    0.522
12    MIR Joan     36    SPA    Team Suzuki Ecstar    Suzuki    0.620
13    BASTIANINI Enea     23    ITA    Team Gresini Racing MotoGP    Ducati    0.103 Q1
14    OLIVEIRA Miguel     88    POR    Red Bull KTM Factory Racing    KTM    0.146
15    MARQUEZ Alex     73    SPA    LCR Honda    Honda    0.363
16    MORBIDELLI Franco     21    ITA    Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP    Yamaha    0.414
17    CRUTCHLOW Cal     35    GBR    WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team    Yamaha    0.458
18    BEZZECCHI Marco     73    ITA    Mooney VR46 Racing Team    Ducati    0.498
19    DI GIANNANTONIO Fabio     49    ITA    Team Gresini Racing MotoGP    Ducati    0.605
20    GARDNER Remy     87    AUS    Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing    KTM    0.714
21    NAKAGAMI Takaaki     30    JPN    LCR Honda    Honda    0.740
22    ESPARGARO Pol     44    SPA    Repsol Honda Team    Honda    0.846
23    FERNANDEZ Raul     25    SPA    Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing    KTM    1.586
24    BINDER Darryn     40    RSA    WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team    Yamaha    1.899
    


    

Repsol Honda Team - MotoGP, also photos